Pynchon, The War, and Doug. What else is there?

[jbor]

quail at libyrinth.com wrote:

> And by the way, I have little doubt that Pynchon deplores this war,
> and probably has an opinion closer to Doug's. Which is fine with me.
> I can still learn a lot from his books, even from the parts I
> disagree with.

Hard to guess, and whatever his personal opinion is he doesn't appear to
feel it is qualified or authoritative enough to warrant offering publicly.
Perhaps he's simply happy to let Doug speak for him. But I doubt it.

I think that the comment in the _SL_ 'Intro' about "the Bomb" and that
"succession of the criminally insane who have enjoyed power since 1945,
including the power to do something about it" (18) is not simply an avowal
of pacifism but also an admonishment about the wise and responsible exercise
of "power" in the global context. Pakistan's and India's nuclear
capabilities come to mind -- it's an incredibly volatile and delicate
geopolitical environment -- and I think the way that Bush/the U.S. acted
with the restraint they did, ensuring that there was full and unanimous
international assent to the *necessary* military operation against the
Taliban before proceeding with it, is something that wouldn't sit too badly
with Pynchon at all.

best